This year, as always, we welcome the arrival of the summer break. For a few weeks we will be free from calls, e-mails and deadlines, and this, with a change of surroundings, will give us the opportunity for fresh ideas.

The first half of the year brought with it a different and more difficult economic environment. Several sectors of industry have suffered considerably. But life goes on, albeit for many people this year with a reduced budget for their holiday.

After the summer break, we will meet the decision makers in Brussels again. In some cases, there will be new people to meet for our advocacy work in Brussels: the new European Parliament starts its work in July, and a new European Commission will be in place from November. Many changes have been announced, including at the Directorate Generals responsible for health and for medicinal products.

The new Parliament is known, the European Commission not yet. Christine Marking reports on the situation, with an agenda for the changes expected within the European institutions for the rest of the year.

Another important topic currently being discussed in several fields is ‘Risk regulation’.   

As regards the field of non-conventional medicinal products, lawyer Johan Hulshof comes to the conclusion that the regulation for these is a form of risk regulation that is currently too rigid to be efficient. Dr Ton Nicolai, a homeopathic doctor, concludes that, if they satisfy requirements for quality control and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), homeopathic medicinal products can be regarded as generally safe.

Both articles refer to a number of excellent publications on the topic.

I wish you all excellent, relaxing and inspiring holidays.    

Nand De Herdt
ECHAMP President

Parliamentary questions on complementary medicine
In its answers to a number of Parliamentary Questions tabled since the beginning of the year, the European Commission makes clear that it has no solution for the better functioning of the legislation for homeopathic and anthroposophic medicinal products within the current legal and regulatory framework for these products.
Read more…

European elections 2009
The European elections have resulted in an overall clear victory of the right, with left-wing parties suffering losses across the EU. Christine Marking explains the changes we can expect within the Parliament over the coming months. Read more…

Risk regulation
The regulation of pharmaceuticals is a form of risk regulation that aims to avoid potential harm to society in the field of public health. Lawyer Johan Hulshof reviews the field of non-conventional medicinal products in the EU and concludes that regulatory approaches not only tend to be too theoretical, formalistic and costly, but also disproportionate; this is a form of risk regulation that is currently too rigid to be efficient and fails to provide an optimal balance between health protection and market access.
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Safety of homeopathic medicines
The available evidence suggests that hazards from homeopathic products are modest in comparison with those of conventional medicine. Dr Ton Nicolai reviews the literature on the safety of homeopathic medicines and concludes that if homeopathic medicinal products satisfy requirements for quality control and Good Manufacturing Practice, they can be regarded as generally safe.
Read more…

Editor: Karen Chapman, ECHAMP PR and Communications Consultant